Tuesday, June 30, 2015

With each incident of police violence unleashed
on yet another unarmed African-American – another wave of consciousness sweeps
the country as new rebellious uprisings emerge.
There are black and brown communities all over the country – the
constant targets of police violence – who have said no more and are actively
galvanizing, mobilizing, organizing and yes, resisting. There is something emerging in this country
that can longer be contained – and we recently bore witness to that in
Baltimore, Maryland.

For the last two months there’s been relatively two
burning questions asked by those in and out of Baltimore - what exactly happened to Freddy Gray and how did he die? Since Mr. Gray died from horrific spinal injuries
occurring while in police custody - these questions were left unanswered only
for the public to draw their own conclusions – until now. The recent “leaking” of the autopsy report to
the Baltimore Sun is supposed to finally address these questions. The “leaked” autopsy report revealed that Mr. Gray
suffered from what the report described as a “high energy” injury while making
a comparison to injuries suffered from shallow-water diving accidents. The
report states: The type of
fracture/dislocation documented in imaging studies on admission is a high
energy injury most often caused by abrupt deceleration of a rotated head on a
hyperflexed neck, such as seen in shallow water diving incidents.”

Monday, December 29, 2014

For over a month
now, the world has witnessed a special moment unfolding in America where literally
thousands upon thousands took to the streets in a stunning display of mass
resistance in response to, not one but two recent controversial grand jury
rulings. The world took notice of the rebellious uprisings emerging in city
after city – from Ferguson, Missouri to Brooklyn, New York to Oakland,
California – making their presence felt uptown as well as downtown, in the
‘hood’, and on college campuses. Protestors infiltrated and disrupted holiday
shopping, Thanksgiving parades, Christmas events – brought the nation’s major
highways and the railroads to a stop – gnarling traffic for miles.

Two separate high
profile grand jury proceedings in St. Louis and New York City ruled against
indicting police officers, Darren Wilson and Daniel Pantaleo – in essence
validating their use of deadly force against Michael Brown and Eric Garner,
respectively. The vastly unpopular rulings triggered an incredible wave of mass
resistance protesting against not just the police brutality issue but also against
the abysmal lack of accountability for killing unarmed African American men. The grand jury’s
decision not only exonerated the use of deadly force with no criminal charges
but the decision also reinforced the notion that such deadly force is indeed
the standard operating procedure, particularly when unarmed African Americans
are involved. But there’s more - the grand jury’s decision essentially enables
the uninterrupted freedom of both officers and allows them to return to their
jobs, to walk the beat above ground while the bodies of Michael Brown and Eric
Garner lay buried below ground.

The ruling triggered painful reminders from a wretched racist past.Take for example, the ruling serving as a reminder
of the second-class citizenship that typically characterized Black America in
the days before integration – you know, like when lynching was routine.Another reminder of how unjust and unequal
the criminal justice system is towards the black communities that make up Black
America.Another reminder of the Black
America’s relationship with the police and how different that relationship is
with other communities that make up the nation. Another reminder of the role the
police had during the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements – as the first
line of defense -the brutal enforcers
of Jim Crow and legal segregation. Another reminder of their role with
COINTELPRO. And yet another reminder of the tragic failure of the state to
recognize black humanity.

Consider for a
moment what activist Rosa Clemente recently noted when
she underlined significance of the ruling: “…The grand jury’s refusal to
indict Darren Wilson means that the physical evidence, testimony of witnesses,
police report on the incident, and Wilson’s own inconsistent and implausible
account will never be subject to cross-examination, scrutiny, and comparison
before a jury.”Simply put, Ms. Clemente
nailed it in pointing out the implications when police are left unindicted – no
trial, no public scrutiny, no transparency and certainly no accountability. That’s
why so many are just infuriated with the grand jury refusals to indict, and in
fact, held very little hope for indictments of police officers Darren Wilson
and Daniel Pantaleo.Deep down…we already knew…

Take the Michael
Brown case for instance where there were issues from the start. There were
several events that instilled doubt within the local Ferguson community and
larger extended community who demanded justice. Aside from not having a video
of the shooting, Mr. Brown’s character came under heavy scrutiny, while the
Prosecuting Attorney, Mr. McCullough refused to recuse himself from the case
despite the strong conflict of interests.Doubts around the Brown grand jury grew stronger as leaks spilled out,
at one point, almost daily.For days, all
eyes were squarely riveted on Ferguson as we constantly heard that a decision “was
coming any day now.” We braced ourselves
for the worst… During this time the Governor announced his plan to deploy
the National Guard, and declared a state of emergency…before an emergency.Businesses fortified themselves as if
preparing for a hurricane to blow through town. Schools closed down. Gun sales
hit the roof. And then the announcement was made hours after the day turned into night
- at the nighttime hour of nine o clock - Darren
Wilson will not be indicted.The
Ferguson community erupted at the news and the rebellious uprising was in full
swing quickly spreading across the country like California wildfire.To make matters worse, we gradually learned
about disturbing issues with the grand jury – first, the inconsistent
presentation of evidence, and most recently, the apparent issues with lying
witnesses.

Then less than two weeks after
the Brown grand jury decision, the Garner grand jury decided not to indict NYPD
Officer Daniel Pantaleo. Despite the cellphone video showing an illegal
chokehold used on Mr. Garner by Mr. Pantaleo as well as Chief Examiners Report thatruled Mr. Garner’s death a homicide!Just like the Brown case, there were issues
with the Garner case from the start – community demands for a special
prosecutor, concerns regarding a jury pool being picked from a biased
pro-police Staten Island community and the Staten Island District Attorney
seemingly delaying the grand jury process considering they didn’t start hearing
evidence until nearly October – almost three months after Mr. Garner was killed. To make matters worse, nearly ten days after the Brown
grand jury ruling, the Garner grand jury was announced and the public response was
both swift and fierce with a flurry of daily protests around the country.

And then two New
York City police officers were gunned down on a Saturday afternoon – and you
can sense the gradual shift in the narrative as the pro-police forces began to
assert themselves. The police killing was immediately linked to the protests,
and echoed loudly with inflammatory commentary by police union chief Pat Lynch,
former governor George Pataki and former mayor Rudy Guiliani.Ironically though, calls were made to halt
the protests against the police violence while making no mention of stopping
the pro-police protest rallies or their divisive rhetoric.Nonetheless a debate quickly emerged – should the protests continue in light of the
two dead NYPD officers?But the real
question is not whether the protests should continue or not but rather - When will police officers be held accountable for their criminal use of deadly force?

Meanwhile, the
protest demonstrations continued unabated – and for a few good reasons. Let’s
see, the issue of police brutality and violence has become a national crisis. An issue that has been ongoing for many years
with no apparent repercussions or consequences for police use of excessive
deadly force. The police officers routinely get the benefit of the doubt
regardless of the questionable circumstances that ultimately feeds doubt.And then, aside from the Brown and Garner
grand jury rulings, police officers were also not indicted in grand jury cases
for Ezell Ford, John Crawford, Jonathan Baker, and Keyarika Diggles.Yes – the protests have continued…and for
good reason.